Shloka 39
Babhruvāhana’s Lament and Appeal for Expiation (प्रायश्चित्त-याचना)
एष एको महातेजा: पाण्डुपुत्रो धनंजय: । पिता च मम धर्मात्मा तस्य मे निष्कृति: कुतः,'ये पाण्डुपुत्र धनंजय अद्वितीय वीर, महान् तेजस्वी, धर्मात्मा तथा मेरे पिता थे। इनका वध करके मैंने महान् पाप किया है। अब मेरा उद्धार कैसे हो सकता है?”
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
eṣa eko mahātejāḥ pāṇḍuputro dhanaṃjayaḥ |
pitā ca mama dharmātmā tasya me niṣkṛtiḥ kutaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Inilah dia—Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna), putera Pāṇḍu—tiada tandingan, seorang yang bersinar dengan keagungan besar. Dia juga ayahku yang berhati dharma. Dengan menyebabkan kematiannya, aku telah menanggung dosa yang amat berat; dari manakah kini datangnya penebusan dan pembebasanku?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when the slain is a celebrated hero and dharmic person, the speaker foregrounds moral accountability: the burden of wrongdoing is not erased by circumstance, and one must seek niṣkṛti (expiation) through dharmic means.
Vaiśampāyana reports a lament in which the speaker identifies Dhanaṃjaya (Arjuna) as uniquely radiant and also as his own righteous father, then confesses the sin of having caused his death and asks how any expiation or release could be possible.